Autocomplete and instant search have become increasingly common with text entry and online search engines. Autocomplete is a computerized scheme for predicting and providing a complete word or search phrase that a user wants to type based on a few letters of the word or phrases that are typed in by the user. Autocomplete functionality is commonly implemented in web browsers, e-mail programs, search engine interfaces, source code editors, database query tools, word processors, command line interpreters, etc. Instant search refers to a computerized scheme for displaying search results of a search phrase while the user types the search phrase.
Online search services often offer both autocomplete and instant search functionalities. Autocomplete and instant search are often used together, and online search services strive to more quickly provide more accurate autocomplete suggestions and instant search results. Autocomplete and instant search in general are considered “instant” because they provide responses after each entered character.